Flint Beecher High School basketball guard Monte Morris poses for a photo after winning the Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award from the Michigan High School Basketball Coaches Association after being named Mr. Basketball for the 2012-2013 season on Monday, March 18, 2013 at the Detroit Free Press in downtown Detroit. (Ryan Garza)

DETROIT, MI – It wasn’t a specific play or game that helped the family of Beecher’s Mr. Basketball recipient Monte “Man-Man” Morris realize that he would someday be good in basketball.

Robert Morris saw Mr. Basketball potential in his grandson before his teenage years when he returned home from the local fair with a ton of prizes. They were the result of catching fire in the shooting games.

“When he was 12 years old, he went over to the fair behind the house and came back with five teddy bears,” Robert Morris recalled. “Some real big ones, too. I knew he had potential then.”

The Flint area has produced a large number basketball stars over the years but not many have been able to match the individual success of Morris throughout their high school careers.

He’s in the midst of a legendary high school career and Morris once again proved he’s worthy of being mentioned alongside the hardwood legends by becoming the 33rd winner of the Hal Scam Mr. Basketball award. He was presented with the trophy at the Detroit Free Press building on Monday afternoon. He was briefly emotional during his acceptance speech.

“I want to thank the entire state of Michigan for recognizing me to win this award and it’s a good thing that I brought this back to the Flint community and the entire Beecher community,” Morris announced. “I feel that this is a good thing in my life and everybody else’s life that’s in the community that’s been around me and I’m proud and honored to say that I’m the 2013 Mr. Basketball.”

Morris is only the third Flint-area baller to ever win the award. Flint Northwestern High School grads Glen Rice (1985) and Kelvin Torbert (2001) were the two others with their names etched on the trophy as past winners. Torbert admires Morris’ playing style and predicts that his life will now be different with the Mr. Basketball distinction.

“He’s going to feel a lot of changes,” said Torbert, a 2001 McDonald’s All-American who played at Michigan State. “I think I was called Mr. Basketball probably for three or four months after that. Nobody called me by my name. This is real big for the city and a lot of guys have been up that haven’t done it, so he’ll be able to push himself in an elite status, especially in Flint.”

Former Beecher great Roy Marble was one of those players who came close to winning, but fell short as a senior. In 1985, Marble finished as Rice’s runner-up in the voting but later went on to star at the University of Iowa where he left as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,116 points from 1985-89. Marble also enjoyed a brief NBA career and is convinced that Morris can follow a similar path if he keeps his head on straight.

“This just shows that in the Flint area every now and then, the great ones come and he’s a great one and the records that he’s broke of mine says a lot,” Marble said. “I was a hard worker from Buc-Town and he’s a spitting image of that kind of heart and talking to people down here they are ready for him in the state of Iowa.”

Morris will attend Iowa State University next season. Marble is excited to welcome him to the state. Marble lives and works in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and claims that there’s already a lot of excitement in the state surrounding Morris’ arrival in the fall. Morris’ achievement makes Marble proud to represent his alma mater.

“To be honest with you, it’s almost like a victory for me because I know my DNA comes off of Coldwater Road and that’s a long time coming,” Marble said. “So for him to get it is great for him. He’s ready. He is the truth.

“I think Beecher will be able to pull a back-to-back off (with state titles) and if he does, he’s already amongst the great ones but he kind of separates himself at that point if he does this again and I’m rooting for him.”

Beecher coach Mike Williams was elated to receive the news, but is still trying to keep his team focused on winning another title.

According to Williams, the award isn’t a distraction from Beecher's state title hopes, but rather a fruit from the labor of hard work that Morris put in over the years. He likes to describe Morris’ game as "beyond his years," but still won’t put a ranking on him in comparison with all of the other great Flint high school players over the years.

“I’m proud to say that I was able to coach him and I was able to have a lot to do with the success along with all of the other coaches that helped with him and that coached him before me,” Williams said. “Watching him through the years, I knew he was special. There’s certain things that you can’t teach kids that are God-gifted and he had them then, along with the poise and composure.”

Morris finished ahead of Michigan commit Derrick Walton with 2,130 points. Walton received 2,086 points for second place and McDonalds All-American James Young ended in third with 2,030 points. Detroit Pershing’s Kahlil Felder finished in fourth place with 1,251 points and Dowagiac’s Dontel Highsmith received 1,161 points in the final voting.